Health disparities – even in the face of socioeconomic success – baffle experts

Published: February 13, 2019

Health disparities – even in the face of socioeconomic success – baffle experts

By American Heart Association News

(Thomas Barwick, Getty Images)

Boston pediatrician Dr. April Inniss has read the studies. She has reviewed the reports. She's spoken with colleagues. She has even done her own research.

Yet the information remains shocking to her, flying in the face of her medical training and even, seemingly, common sense: "Black women with a college education or greater have higher infant mortality rates than white women who have a high school diploma," said Inniss, who is black. "The numbers are really startling."

A report last year from Duke University examining the issue of infant mortality showed that babies born to black women with doctorates or professional degrees are about three times more likely to die than babies born to white women with only high school diplomas or GEDs.

"Not only does the black-white disparity for infant mortality exist at all educational levels, it is greatest for those with a master's degree or higher," the report concluded. "Further, the (infant mortality rate) is highest for black women with a doctorate or professional degree."

Those disparities are part of a broader disturbing health anomaly: Studies show that even as African-Americans gain more advanced degrees or move up the income ladder, their health outcomes — across a variety of diseases and ailments — are typically worse than their white counterparts.

A report published last year in the journal Healthcare said although "Whites and African-Americans both gain physical health as their income increases, this protective effect of income against (chronic medical conditions) is larger for Whites than African-Americans."

Another study published last April was even more sobering. A look at employment and health trends over a 25-year period, from 1986 to 2011, showed white adults had longer life expectancy gains through employment than their black peers.

The evidence of disparities is clear. But the reasons are not, said Dr. Keith Churchwell, senior vice president and executive director of Heart and Vascular Services for Yale New Haven Hospital in Connecticut.

"I'm not sure we have a definite answer of why there is still a persistent difference" between African-Americans and their white peers, he said.

"The question would be, do you have the same access to health care? Do you have the same access to follow-up? Are the medications you are taking for the reduction of your cardiovascular risks as effective as they are for white people?" said Churchwell, who chaired an American Heart Association task force last year on health equity and social determinants of health.

New research indicates that racism could play a large role in these disparities.

"A lot of us think that chronic worry about being exposed to racism, either that you will be or a loved one will be exposed, that is a very likely contributor to high-education, high-income blacks having worse health status than their white counterparts," said Dr. Paula Braveman, professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

"What we found in this recent study is … that black women who said they worried often or very often (about being treated unfairly because of race), they were twice as likely to have a premature baby," Braveman said. The research included more than 10,000 women and was published in 2017.

Inniss, founder of eekMD, a health education program for children, is not surprised by Braveman's findings. Her own father died of complications from diabetes and hypertension at age 57.

"I still think the toxic milieu that we live in ... has made it tough," Inniss said. "We're fish in a toxic ocean. And I don't think the ocean is going to be cleaned up in my lifetime."

If you have questions or comments about this story, please email editor@heart.org.

American Heart Association News Stories

American Heart Association News covers heart disease, stroke and related health issues. Not all views expressed in American Heart Association News stories reflect the official position of the American Heart Association.

Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. Permission is granted, at no cost and without need for further request, to link to, quote, excerpt or reprint from these stories in any medium as long as no text is altered and proper attribution is made to the American Heart Association News. See full terms of use.

HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately.

Popular Articles

*All health/medical information on this website has been reviewed and approved by the American Heart Association, based on scientific research and American Heart Association guidelines. Use this link for more information on our content editorial process.